Expect the Unexpected
by BecomingFearless1F
Summary: Barry Allen just thought that he was going to be going to CCPC, the new private college that Joe insisted he attend. What he didn't assume was that four other guys were thinking the same thing. A lightning bolt later, and all five guys must figure out what to do with their newfound strength.
1. Chapter 1

_**(Barry)**_

"You got this, Bare," Barry whispered to himself as he sized up his new school. Central City Private College, or CCPC for short. His foster father, Joe, had been overly excited when he had learned about Barry's rare college acceptance into this prestigious school " _where dreams could become reality_ ", or so said the acceptance letter. Barry wasn't even sure if he wanted to attend this school, until his best friend and foster sister, Iris, convinced him to do so.

"Bare, you're talking to yourself again," a voice whispered, and Barry jumped. He heard a snort of laughter and glared at Iris as she walked around him. She was wearing stylish light brown ankle boots, acid-washed skinny jeans, and a purple blouse. "Relax, you'll be fine. I mean, what's the worst that could happen on the…"

"Don't even finish that sentence or we'll all be cursed," Barry interrupted, and Iris rolled her eyes. Growing up with Barry, she had gotten used to his superstitious mind. "Remind me again how you convinced Joe, of all people, to let us room here?"

"Well, it took some talking, pleading, begging, and bribing, but he finally let us go. I think he believes that it will help us 'grow into the new world'," she finished with air quotes. "Honestly, he's a bit paranoid about the whole idea."

"He's a cop. Aren't they all paranoid?" Barry snorted, and Iris laughed along with him. "Hey, where's the office? Joe forgot to give me my…" Iris held a finger up and dug around her backpack for her purse. Once that was found, she dug around in there until she produced a small, neatly folded white piece of paper. "You are a lifesaver, Iris."

"Daughter of a cop, remember?" she laughed, tapping the side of her head. "Now, come on! I can't wait to see what class we have first!" Barry grabbed the schedule from her and quickly scanned it over, committing each class and time to heart. "Whatcha got?"

"Intro to Forensics," he said. "You?" She grabbed her own schedule and squinted at it.

"Intro to Journalism," she replied. "Hey, how about at lunch, we get together, maybe explore the campus?"

"Sure," Barry agreed, and they shook on it. "Well, I have to go this way. See you in a few hours!"

"Adios, partner!" Iris teased, and Barry walked away with a small smile on his face. Once he was far enough away from Iris, he let his smile drop. He opened up his schedule again and read the first class.

 **1st Period**

 **Therapy**

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Cisco)**_

"I'm just saying, Cait," Cisco groaned as the two of them stepped out of their tiny Sudan. "I just don't want you to get hurt by Ronnie…"

" _Francisco_ ," moaned the redhead, and Cisco mentally slapped himself. She never used his full name unless she was pissed. "I understand your discomfort with Ronnie…"

"That's a nice way of putting it," Cisco muttered under his breath. Caitlin glared at him and he shut up.

"I understand your discomfort with Ronnie," she began again. "You've never been exactly friends with the football team members in high school (who are now the football team members today at this school, might I add), and I know they weren't exactly nice to you that one time…"

"Not nice to me?" growled Cisco. "They laughed when I told them my brother was in the hospital because some idiot had burned him with dry ice!"

"Cisco," Caitlin finished firmly, flipping around to face him. "Ronnie is my boyfriend. You are going to have to get use to that." Cisco grumbled and folded his arms across his chest.

"Fine," he mumbled. "Can we just get on with this stupid college program thingy?"

"How is this stupid?" Caitlin chuckled slightly. "Star Labs High gave us an amazing opportunity of a lifetime to come here." Cisco tried to hold onto his frown, but it was failing. "See? Say it….say it…"

"You're right," Cisco answered, and Caitlin did a mini fist-pump. "CCPC does look pretty snazzy. Wonder if we'll meet any other geeks."

"We can only hope and pray," Caitlin answered.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Barry)**_

"Mr. Allen, come on in," a pretty blond woman said as she opened her door. Barry bolted up and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. The receptionist lady gave him a warm smile before he darted into the small room which was about the size of a cubicle. "First off, let me be the first to say welcome and congratulations on getting into CCPC." Barry gave a weak smile and immediately headed over to a recliner. Subconsciously, he sat down and folded his legs up onto the chair with him. The woman strolled in and sat across from him.

"Barry...can I call you Barry…?" Barry nodded. "Alright, Barry, my name is Ms. Patty Spivot, but you can call me Patty, ok?" Another nod. "Excellent! To start off our session, I'm just going to ask you some simple questions, alright?"

Barry braced himself. They were always about his reactions to the horrible night his mother was... _murdered_. Every shrink and psychiatrist he had ever been to wanted to know what it was like watching his father kill his mother, and every time he argued with them and said, _"No, he didn't kill her! It was the man in yellow!"_ No one ever believed him.

"Ok, here it goes…" Patty began, biting her lower lip. "Favorite song?" Barry nearly burst out laughing from surprise and relief. Was she joking? Favorite song? "Seriously Barry, I need you to answer these."

" _Smooth Criminal_ by Michael Jackson," Barry answered. The rest of the session went on like this, Patty asking irrelevant questions and Barry answering them gleefully, ecstatic that she hadn't asked about that night.

"Thank you, Barry, for your cooperation," Patty said, smiling just as the bell went off. She opened the door and Barry hopped to his feet. "I'll see you tomorrow morning for our next session."

"Why didn't you ask about my mom?" Barry blurted out, turning to face the confused looking doctor. "Every therapy session I've had since I was eleven, everyone wants me to describe that night...so why not you?"

"Of course I want to know what happened," Patty exclaimed. "But Barry, you watched a horrific thing that night. You watched your mother _die_. Whether that is from your father or from some other force the police don't know about. All I know is that I am not going to pry into something until you are ready to tell me about it." Barry felt a little tickle by his eyes, and he quickly swiped away any unformed tears.

"T-Thank you, Patty," Barry whispered, a genuine smile forming on his lips. "I...Y-You don't know how much that means to me."

"Trust me, Barry," Patty responded in a quiet voice. She gently patted him on the shoulder. "I think I do."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Jay)**_

The day had sped by in a flash. Before he knew it, Jay was at his dorm, staring at the door with a bit of fear. It was bad enough he had been forced to move halfway across the country because of the threat from his father, but having to go to some snotty preppy college instead of a quiet, community one made it even worse. Jay took a few steps forward and read the names listed on the door.

 _102_

 **Allen, Bartholomew**

 **Garrick, Jason**

 **Queen, Oliver**

 **Ramon, Francisco**

 **West, Walter**

This was his room. He reached forward, gripped the handle, and shoved it open. It was completely empty, save for the furniture and an African-American boy typing rapidly on a Chromebook. Jay took a few hesitant steps in, and the boy's eyes flung up.

"Which one are you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Jay stared at him, confused. "Which one of the other boys are you?" Jay's eyes widen as he realized what he was talking about.

"Jason Garrick, but I like people to call me Jay," he explained. "Which one are you?"

"Walter West, but please, Wally," he said, a small knowing smile appearing on his face. "You're bunking above the Queen, Oliver dude." Jay nodded and found the bunk bed with his name on it. He threw his stuff up onto it and decided he would unpack later. "What's your major, Mr. Garrick?" Jay turned and narrowed his eyes at Wally, who had gone back to typing.

"Chemistry," he answered gruffly. "And you?

"Auto-mechanics," Wally replied. He flipped his computer over. Jay's eyes widen with surprise. He hadn't been typing. He had been _revising_. Jay crept a little closer as his eyes flicked back and forth, taking in all the information on the screen. "This is the first project of the semester and they gave it to us on the _first day_."

"When's it due?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. Wally shrugged.

"Doesn't really matter," Wally told him. "I'm almost done with it anyhow. Have you seen any of the other guys?" As if on cue, the door burst open and in walked a shorter Latino boy, his black hair swept out of his face. "Guess they're almost here."

"Ok, which of the four other guys are you two?" asked the Latino, narrowing his eyes. "Wait! Let me guess." He pointed towards Wally. "You are...Bartholomew Allen, and you are…" He turned towards Jay and pointed to him. "Oliver Queen." Wally and Jay made eye contact and snorted.

"Nope," Jay said, shaking his head. "I'm Jason Garrick and that's Walter West. Though seriously, call us Jay and Wally."

"I'm Francisco Ramon!" the Latino boy announced as he tossed his stuff up above Wally. "Also known as Cisco."

"So now all we need is Oliver Queen and Bartholomew Allen," Wally said, glancing at the door. "Wonder where they are at?"

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Oliver)**_

It's not very often that Oliver Queen, son of Robert Queen, gets lost. But if he does, he does it with flare.

Oliver glanced down, grumbling to himself as he scanned his school map. He couldn't seem to find where his dorm was at, no matter how hard he tried.

"You just had to leave Star City to come here, huh," he grumbled angrily to himself, checking his watch. He needed to unpack before his next class started. "Good job, Ollie."

"You're talking to yourself," a voice interrupted, and Oliver jumped in surprise. A darker skinned girl walked out from behind him and gave him a warm smile. "Sorry, but I thought someone should tell you."

"I appreciate it, actually," Oliver told her. He held his hand out. "Oliver Queen."

"Iris West," she responded, grabbing his hand and shaking it firmly. "So, a Star City kid in Central...how is it?"

"Very wet," he answered and Iris laughed. "The people are nice, I guess. Coffee's fantastic. You wouldn't happen to know how to get to the guys' dorms, do you?" Iris nodded.

"My foster brother is here too, so I learned where he was in case I needed to reach him," she told Oliver. "Follow me." Oliver followed his newfound friend all the way to the other side of the campus, where a large red-brick dorm awaited them. "What's your major, _Ollie_?" Oliver barely cringed as he heard her say his self-given nickname. Some kid from Star City had insisted he get himself a nickname so he had, but it didn't mean he enjoyed it. However, hearing Iris say it was almost calming.

"Economics," he responded. "Dad wants me to follow in his footsteps and take over his job once he's old enough to retire. What about you, Ms. Central City? What's your major?"

"Journalism," she answered. "Some funky things have been happening around Central, and I want to be the first person on the scene." She gestured towards the dorm. "Here you are. Have fun and don't die."

"Reassuring words," Oliver mumbled underneath his breath. Iris smiled and laughed before patting Oliver on the shoulder. "Again, thank you." She just smiled and nodded before strutting off. Oliver quickly found his room and introduced himself to his roommates, Jay, Wally, and Cisco. It seemed this Bartholomew fellow was still missing. Just as Oliver finished up putting his clothes into his trunk, a kid came skidding into the room.

"SosorryI'mlate," the kid rushed his words, quickly placing his things into a large central bed. "Iforgottrackoftimeanddidn'tknowwherethedormswere…"

"Chillax, dude," snorted Wally, raising an eyebrow. "You're just a little late. Classes don't start for another half hour." He gave the kid a once-over. "You must be Bartholomew." The kid cringed.

"I prefer the name Barry," he muttered, fixing his stuff a little slower.

"Name's Oliver," Oliver said, walking over, holding a hand out. "I'm from Star City." Barry shook his hand firmly and smiled.

"Central," he said. "Born and raised."

"Same," Wally and Cisco said at the same time. The other guy, Jay, kind of shuffled awkwardly.

"Salem, Oregon," he said. "Moved here."

"Why d'ja move?" Wally asked, but Jay seemed to busy himself doing something above Oliver. "Hey, sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"It's kind of personal," Jay began, running his fingers through his hair. "I would rather not say." They all nodded and went about their little ways quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

_**(Wally)**_

Wally was sure about one thing: his roommates could snore. Not all of them, only Cisco. Wally spent half of the night twisting and turning before finally using heavy metal music to block out Cisco so he could have a peaceful night of rest. The morning turned out to be worse. When Wally awoke, Jay was in their little kitchenette, casually cooking up some omelets. Barry was still passed out in his large bed, Oliver was flipping through some Economics textbook, and Cisco didn't seem to be around.

"Hey," moaned Wally, falling back onto his pillow as he blinked his eyes to get readjusted. "Where's that Francesco guy…?"

"It was Cisco, and he left to meet with his friend for coffee," moaned Barry. Wally started, surprised he was actually awake. "I need coffee."

"Omelets are ready!" Jay announced, and groggily the three boys pulled themselves from their beds and onto the bar stools around the island. "I would eat, but I have football tryouts in a little bit and I don't want to get sick." Wally watched as Barry checked the cliché clock that hung above their door.

"I need to head out soon too," he commented, pushing his omelet forward. He walked over to his bed and grabbed his already-packed backpack. "I'll grab an extra-large lunch." Wally shrugged and dug into his omelet, which was delicious. Jay and Barry quickly changed and waved to them. "See you guys tonight." Wally gave a bit of a wave and Oliver seemed to completely ignore him.

"I have to get to the auto shop," Wally yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "You lock up?" Oliver nodded and waved him off. "See you later."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Barry)**_

"Hey Barry!" Patty said, waving at him as soon as he came into view. Barry broke out into a full grin. Even though he had just met his therapist yesterday, he was already open to her. "Come on in. I have some coffee brewing in the corner if you'd like some." Barry nodded gratefully and entered the little room, grabbing some coffee before taking a seat. "Alright, first off, tell me about your first day at CCPC." Barry launched into the story of his first forensic class, and how he was super pumped about it already. Then, he explained about how he got lost and a nice girl named Jesse had kindly pointed out the directions to his dorm. Upon finding his dorm, he also met his roommates, Wally (Auto-Mechanics), Oliver (Economics), Jay (Chemistry), and Cisco (Modern Tech). "Sounds like you've had a busy day."

"It was," he admitted. "Now, I'm here." Patty grinned.

"Well, looks like you're doing really well," she said, smiling brightly. "Anything else you want to add?" Barry opened his mouth, but then the bell rang out. "Whoops. If you do, I have to say make it quick. I have another appointment coming in soon."

"It can wait until tomorrow," he told her, and she nodded gratefully. "I'll see you tomorrow, Patty."

"Bye Barry," she said, waving. "Send the next one in, would you?" He nodded and stepped out, faltering a bit. The person sitting in the waiting lounge was Jay Garrick, his roommate.

"H-Hey man," Barry stuttered, and Jay's head turned, his eyes flashing with disbelief. "M-Ms. Spivot will s-see you now." Jay nodded and the two of them passed each other with only one thought racing through Barry's head.

 _Why is Jay in therapy_?

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Cisco)**_

Cisco tapped his foot impatiently as he doubled checked his watch again. Caitlin should have been there at the little on-campus coffee shop, Jitters, over an hour ago. He sipped his now cold hot latte and grumbled to himself. He even checked his phone, but no notifications came. He huffed and stood up, immediately knocking into another girl. She gasped as the lid came off of his coffee, spilling all over the both of them.

"I'm so sorry," Cisco said, immediately reaching for the napkins conveniently placed on each table. "Here, let me help you."

"Well, aren't you a little knight in shining armor," laughed the girl, brushing her dark hair out of her face. "Thank you." He nodded, his cheeks blushing slightly as he tried to dry her off a bit. "My name's Lisa. Lisa Snart."

"Cisco Ramon," Cisco responded, smiling warmly. "Are you a teacher or a student?"

"Do I look like a teacher?" she asked, laughing in disbelief. Cisco took a step back to 'check her out'. She was definitely _NOT_ a teacher. She wore tall black boots that hugged her calves, black skinny jeans with rips in them, a long dark gray flowing tank top, and a black leather jacket.

"Alright, I was mistaken," he chuckled. "You are so not a teacher."

"If I was a teacher, I'd be the coolest one there was," she teased, and he laughed. "So, Cisco, what do you major in here?"

"Modern tech," he told her. "What about you?"

"Majoring in criminology while minoring in forensics," she answered, and he snorted. "Hey, what's so funny about that?"

"I'm sorry, but…" She folded her arms across her chest and gave him a disbelieving smirk.

"You don't think I'm a hard worker," she finished for him. She gestured to herself. "Because I look like this."

"I said I was sorry, but those are your words, not mine," he said, holding up his hands in defense. She held up the tough look for about another minute before she broke out into an adorable smile.

"Believe it or not," Lisa began, taking a seat. "I was a class A+ nerd in high school. Got bullied, the whole shebang. My older brother, Lenny, would be the one who would stand up for me. One day, I realized that no one seemed to mess with Lenny, and I realized why. He was a biker. They automatically thought that he was too tough for them, so they avoided any conflict with him. So, the first day of Senior year, I told the teachers and my guidance counselor my plan. They agreed to it. I've been putting on the tough biker chick look ever since then."

"And you've never gotten bullied because of it since?" Cisco asked, amazed. She nodded. "Wow...that's amazing." Suddenly, the Jitters bell rang and Cisco saw Caitlin dashing in, looking a bit disheveled. "Hey, Lisa, I would love to get to know you more, but the person I came here to see just arrived."

"No prob," she said. She pulled something out of her backpack, quickly scribbled down a few numbers, and handed it to him. "That's my number. Call me or text me sometime and we can get together." Cisco nodded, numbly putting the number in his pocket. "Thanks for letting me talk." He nodded again and she sashayed out of the coffee shop, stopping once to chat politely with Caitlin, who looked like she had had enough. Caitlin rushed over to Cisco.

"I'm so sorry Cisco," she sighed, brushing her clothes down. "Ronnie called me earlier and said he wanted to…"

"You seriously ditched me for Ronnie?" Cisco asked, astounded. "Cait, we've been doing our coffee pre-breaks for all of high school...how could you just ditch it for Ronnie?"

"I know I shouldn't have, but…" she began, but Cisco was fuming now.

"I knew that Ronnie was changing you, but I just didn't realize how much," he said, a hint of venom in his voice. He pushed past Caitlin as he made his way to the door. "Hey Lisa! Wait up!"

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Jay)**_

Jay needed coffee. Stat. He burst through the doors of Jitters and entered the line when he noticed someone. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Beautiful red hair with doe-like brown eyes and skin as white as snow. She was sitting at one of the tables alone, looking depressed. Once Jay got his coffee, he casually made his way over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, and she jumped at his voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude…"

"It's fine," she sighed, using the tip of her finger to wipe away any tears without ruining her makeup. "Someone was bound to notice."

"Do you want someone to talk to?" Jay asked, and she paused for a moment, thinking, before nodding quickly. Jay took a seat across from her. "What happened?"

"My best friend got mad at me because I was late for our get-together coffee before breakfast," she whispered. "My boyfriend had called and wanted to see me and we kind of...lost track of time." Jay kind of stiffened up. Alright, boyfriend was an immediately no-no, and 'losing track of time' wasn't good either. "Now, my best friend is pissed off at me and I don't know what to do."

"Wait for them to simmer down," Jay suggested, and the girl looked up at him, confused. "They were probably upset that you blew them off. Try and talk to them later and see if they're doing better." The girl silently sipped her coffee, but a smile formed on her face.

"That would be amazing," she said. "Thank you so much…"

"Jay," he told her, smiling back.

"Caitlin."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Oliver)**_

Oliver's hands were so full of homework that he didn't even recognize he had bumped into someone until they yelled, "Excuse me?" He moved his arms to the side and gasped. It was a girl, and she looked ticked.

"Just what exactly was so important that you wouldn't stop to see if I was alright?" she demanded, leaping to her feet. She was tall, skinny and blond. She wore square-frame glasses and looked upset.

"I'm so sorry," he said, bending over to put the homework on the ground. He brushed his hands on his jeans. "I just was trying to get back to my dorm so I could dump this load off before heading to my next class." The girl's face soften quickly.

"Is that for one class?" she asked, pointing towards Oliver's stack of homework. He nodded sullenly.

"I'm majoring in economics, but it seems like it's also majoring in paperwork," he groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Would you like some help with it?" she asked. "I'm majoring in modern tech, so I understand the homework load." Oliver smiled and nodded.

"That would be awesome," he said. The girl quickly scribbled her number down on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

"My name's Felicity," she said. "Felicity Smoak."

"Oliver. Oliver Queen," he answered.


	3. Chapter 3

_**(Barry)**_

"Why couldn't any of you have majored in forensics?" moaned Barry as he rubbed his forehead. Each of the boys were sitting in their respective beds just as midnight hit, each of them with the same throbbing headache from trying to finish their homework. "Then I wouldn't be alone in this pain."

"Hey dude," Cisco said, leaning down from his bunk. He chucked a tiny paper wad at Barry. "Met this chick at Jitters today. Name's Lisa Snart. Super bad girl, if you know what I mean. Anyways, she's majoring in criminology but minoring in forensics. Maybe she could tutor you or something."

"I'll shoot her a text and find out," Barry responded, unfolding the paper.

"It's almost 1am," commented Oliver from where he was lying on his side, squinting at his paper. "Shouldn't she be asleep?"

"Does anyone sleep at this college with this amount of homework?" Jay fired back, yawning. The rest of the boys muttered their agreements and Barry grabbed his phone.

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Hey! Is this Lisa Snart?_

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _yeah, who the heck is this?!_

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Whoops, sorry bout that. I'm Barry Allen. I'm Cisco Ramon's roommate. He told me you were minoring in forensics and I was wondering if sometime you would be willing to help me study for it. My homework's killing me._

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _LOL. Sure. Meet me at lunch in Jitters. I'll be able to help you with your homework then._

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _THANK YOU SO MUCH! You are a lifesaver, Lisa._

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _No prob ;p. now go to bed! Xp_

Barry shook his head, but a small smile was on his lips.

"Well, what did she say?" Cisco asked, his eyes wide with anticipation.

"She agreed to do it at lunch tomorrow," Barry said, yawning. "Someone remind me to text Iris in the morning that I can't eat lunch with her for a while."

"Iris, as in Iris West?" Oliver asked, glancing up at Barry. Barry nodded uneasily. "She's the one who helped me find the dorm."

"Mine was a girl named Jesse Wells," Barry told him. "Jay, meet any female friends this last few days?"

"I met this nice girl at Jitters earlier today," he said. "Said her name's Caitlin. She was having an argument with her friend." Cisco coughed and looked a bit uncomfortable. "Anyways, I gave her some advice and hopefully she follows it."

"What about you, Mr. Walter?" Cisco asked, hanging over the edge of his bed. "Meet any lady friends?" He then wiggled his eyebrows.

"Nope," Wally replied, shaking his head. "I've been too focused on Auto club to even think about girls." Cisco sighed and clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Just go to bed, man."

"Relax," Cisco said, flopping back down onto his bed. "Just go with the flow."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Wally)**_

The boys were more functional the next morning, Wally included. Each of them got up around 6:30am ish, and were starting their day.

"Got to go see if my friend is actually at Jitters," grumbled Cisco, grabbing his backpack. He finished his waffle that Jay had skillfully cooked for them. "See you all later."

"Wait!" Jay called, grabbing his things and quickly running after Cisco. Soon, it was just Oliver, Barry, and Wally left in the room. Barry was fidgeting on his seat, biting his lower lip.

"Can you guys keep a secret?" Barry asked suddenly, causing Wally and Oliver to look at him with confusion. "I mean from Jay and Cisco?" Oliver nodded immediately, and Wally nodded a bit more slowly. "Ok...I'm in therapy." Oliver's eyes widen in shock.

"What kind of therapy?" he asked slowly. Barry shifted awkwardly.

"Emotional and mental therapy," he explained quietly. "When I was eleven years old, someone broke into our house. I-I came downstairs from my room and saw a man completely dressed in yellow and red. He looked at me and I tried to run, but I hit my head. When I came back inside, my mom was dead." Wally felt his face go slack in disbelief. "Everyone claimed that I made the man in yellow up to cope with the fact that my father had been the one to kill her. He's been in prison ever since then, accused of something he didn't do."

"T-That's what you want us to keep away from the other two?" stammered Oliver, trying to recompose himself.

"N-No...well, yes, but there's a-another thing," Barry stuttered. "When I was coming out of my appointment, I saw Jay there. He was visiting the same doctor I was."

"Funky," whispered Wally. "So something traumatic must have happened to Jay…"

"I shouldn't have told you guys this," moaned Barry, putting his head in his hands. "Just forget I said anything about it!"

"Calm down, Barry," Oliver said, gently but firmly. "Having something like that happen is beyond difficult. Tell other people about it? More so. If you ever need to talk to anybody, we'll be here." He turned and narrowed his eyes at Wally. "Right?"

"Right," Wally gulped, suddenly intimidated.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Cisco)**_

"Wait!" Cisco heard Jay's voice cry out. Cisco paused briefly outside of their room and waited for Jay to catch up with him. "You said you were meeting someone at Jitters? Before breakfast?"

"I said I was meeting someone, yes, but you must have clued in the rest," Cisco answered quietly. Jay gripped the straps on his backpack tighter.

"You're the friend who fought with Caitlin," Jay said, nodding his head slowly. "The reason she was sad." Cisco fought off a sigh. He hated making Caitlin feel bad, but she was to blame for that incident. "So what happened, coming from your side?"

"Alright, here's the brief version of the story," Cisco said. "Caitlin's boyfriend, Ronnie, and I do not get along with each other. He's a part of the football team and the robotics team, sadly. I've tried being friendly to him and his friends for Cait's sake, but they humiliate me at every possible turn. The coffees before breakfasts, or coffee pre-breaks as I like to call them, have been a tradition Caitlin and I started back when we were freshmen in high school together. Then, after four years of doing it steadily, she blows it off because she was with 'Ronnie'."

"Shouldn't you let her explain and apologize?" Jay questioned, suddenly defensive.

"Whoa, cool your jets," Cisco said, holding up his hands in defense. "I try to be tolerant of Ronnie, but slowly he's changing her from the fun-loving, kind Caitlin I grew up with. Now she's just some play toy to him and she doesn't even see that. I don't want her to get hurt." Jay was silent and Cisco relished the quiet air between them. He knew he should apologize to Caitlin. In fact, he was planning on it, but he also needed time to relax and figure out what to do with Ronnie.

"I'm on the football team," Jay said, breaking the silence. "Auditioned yesterday and got QB."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Cisco said, flipping so he was facing Jay. His eyebrow slightly raised. "You got QB?" Jay nodded. "No joke, absolutely QB?" Jay nodded again. "Dude, thank you so much!"

"For what?" Jay asked, running to catch up to Cisco as he bounded down the hallway in happiness.

"First, it means I have a friend on the football team, and second, Ronnie's always gotten QB in the four years we've gone to school together," Cisco chuckled. "What part did he get?"

"Last name?"

"Raymond." Jay was silent for a second before he answered, "I think he's on offensive, but I can't seem to remember." Cisco seemed to squeal with glee, though of course he denied it. He came to Jitters and was surprised to see not only Caitlin, but also Lisa.

"Hey girls," Cisco said, and the two of them looked up, smiling.

"Hey guys!" they called out, waving to them. Cisco and Jay ordered their drinks before taking a seat across from them.

"Cisco, I hope that you don't mind, but I brought Lisa here," Caitlin said, sipping her coffee nervously. "I was rushing out of the dorm and she just ran after me saying I forgot my homework, and…"

"Cait, it's totally cool," Cisco interrupted her. "Lisa and I met yesterday while you were with Ronnie." He gestured to Jay. "I hope you don't mind that I brought Jay today." She shook her head, a slight blush forming on her cheeks. Cisco smirked and so did Lisa. "So, you two are roommates?"

"Yep," Lisa answered. "We also got these three other girls: Felicity Smoak, Iris West, and Jesse Wells." The four of them had a great time with each other, just chatting and learning about each other. Finally, there was a slight ringing. "Sorry guys, I gotta jet. I have criminology with Mr. Singh."

"I have to leave as well," Jay said, glancing at the clock. "Otherwise I'm going to be late." Cisco made eye contact with Caitlin, who was suddenly interested in her coffee cup's lid.

"We'll leave in a second," Cisco put in, and Jay nodded, walking with Lisa out of the coffee shop. "Cait, admit it."

"What?" she asked, startled.

"Admit it that you're beginning to crush on Jay!" Cisco whispered underneath his breath.

"I can't!" she hissed back. "I'm dating Ronnie." She bit her lip. "I got to go." She gathered her things and she quickly left, leaving Cisco smirking.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Barry)**_

"A what?" Barry asked in disbelief. Jesse, the girl who had helped him find his dorm, nodded excitedly.

"A dance!" she giggled excitedly. "Isn't that cool? And, what's even better is it's called an 'awkward' dance."

"What's so cool about an 'awkward' dance?" Barry asked, still confused.

"An 'awkward' dance is where the couples are people who don't know each other very well," Jesse explained. "So, it would be like you asking me to it, because we don't know each other that well. The only bummer is that it is absolutely mandatory, so everyone needs to find a partner."

"When is the deadline due for a date?" Barry questioned. Jesse was quiet for a moment as she racked her brain for an answer.

"I think two weeks," she said. "But you better find someone quick. Who knows who might be left when those two weeks are gone." She flipped around and stalked off, leaving Barry clueless. He whipped his phone out.

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Did you know about this whole 'awkward' dance?_

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _Jesse girl told us earlier. Haven't given it much thought._

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Even though it's mandatory?_

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _When have I ever followed the rules? ;p_

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Well, I personally don't want to get kicked out of the school, thank you very much. So how about it?_

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _How about what?_

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _Will you be my date for the 'awkward' dance?_

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _You certainly know how to charm a girl, Allen, I'll give you that. Are you sure I'm the girl you want to be asking? My BF might be upset to know I went with somebody else._

 _ **Barry Allen**_

 _I'm used to being bullied. I can handle it._

 _ **Lisa Snart**_

 _Then yes, Mr. Allen. I wouldn't mind being your date._

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Oliver)**_

"A what?" Oliver gasped. Iris nodded, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Since Barry was meeting up with Lisa for tutoring, Oliver had volunteered to take his place and be with Iris.

"I know, right?" Iris said, rolling her eyes. "Jesse said it's called an 'awkward' dance. It's probably some lame attempt to get the kids to socialize with each other more, as if we don't already."

"Adults," Oliver muttered under his breath. Iris caught it, though, and snorted. She gently punched Oliver's arm.

"We're technically adults," she said, smiling. "Anyways, I don't want some weirdo to ask me! I mean, if it was someone I kind of knew…"

"Has any weirdos asked you?" Oliver asked, not really curious but not wanting to talk.

"Three," she moaned, resting her forehead on the table. "And each one of them I denied because they were weirdos. Like, Class A, worse than your roommate, Cisco, weirdos."

"You lie," Oliver said, digging into his salad. "There are no bigger weirdos than Cisco." Iris laughed and Oliver suddenly felt his hands go sweaty. "Hey, you said you wanted to go to this dance with someone you kind of knew, right?" Iris nodded, coming back up to dig into her sandwich. "Would you be willing to go with me?" She paused and looked at him with astonishment.

"You?" she said, almost accusingly. Oliver flinched. "Sorry, that came out a lot meaner than I meant." She looked at Oliver. "Why should I say yes?"

"I'll figure out your favorite flowers and chocolates."

"Deal," she said, laughing. "I am now actually taken by one Mr. Oliver Queen." Oliver laughed and shook his head.

"I thought you were dating someone," Oliver said, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah, that's Detective Eddie Thawne," Iris explained. "He's my dad's partner. He said he's going to come to CCPC soon to get a higher degree in criminology!"

"Cool," Oliver said, just as his phone pinged. He glanced down at it as the name Barry Allen flashed. "One sec." He put his phone to his ear and stepped away from Iris. "Allen, you have to answer two questions: one, how did you get my number and two, what do you want?"

"Answer one, I met your tutor, Felicity, and she helped me figure out your phone number by hacking into the school's computer database. Answer two, you heard about that whole dance thing?"

Oliver nodded, then realized he was on the phone, and answered, "Yeah."

"Anyways, I just wanted to see if you got a date yet. Right now, I'm going to go with Lisa Snart, the girl Cisco met at Jitters and my forensics' tutor," Barry said through the phone. "What about you?"

"I'm going with your friend, Iris West," Oliver responded. "Although I'm going to need to learn her favorite flowers and chocolates and soon."

"I got you, bro," Barry told him. "Text Jay and Wally. Cisco just walked into Jitters so I'll see what he's going to do."

"Gotcha." Oliver hung up and walked back to the table, where Iris was looking at him suspiciously.

"What was that about?" she demanded. "I heard my name mentioned." Oliver tried to give her his best innocent look.

"Why would it be anything to concern yourself with?" he asked very politely. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Might I remind you, _Mr. Queen_ , that my dad and my boyfriend are cops and detectives," she whispered. "I know for a fact that you mentioned my name."

"Barry called and asked if I had gotten a date for this whole 'awkward' dance thing yet," he explained. "So, I said yes and asked him to help me figure out the flowers and chocolate thing."

"Cheater!" she laughed and Oliver just returned with a playful grin.


	4. Chapter 4

_**(Jay)**_

Jay grabbed his backpack and flung it over his shoulder, readying to leave chemistry class when his phone pinged. He grabbed it and his heart nearly stopped. He opened the email and examined it closely.

 **To: Jason Garrick**

 **From: Gideon Garrick**

Hey Jay!

I understand you told me not to go more in depth with the blood test, but I had to, so whoops.

The blood you sent me _**WASN'T**_ yours, like I had previously thought. It was from a guy named Hunter Zolomon. The Freaky part is Hunter is the exact same age as you and... _wait for the dramatic pause_ ….has the same Y-chromosome and the same mitochondria.

I know you don't want to learn about this right at the moment, especially since you just moved to CCPC and all that, but this is the only time.

Jay Garrick, Hunter Zolomon is _**your twin brother**_. He has the same exact DNA strands as you do. My guess is that hunter is your _**identical**_ twin brother. I'm doing more research on Hunter to see if I can learn any details.

I've met your mom, dude, and I know for a fact that she would never send her child away before you could meet him, so I'm pretty sure that your **idiot-brained** father was the guy who did this.

At the next possible point, I need you to send me some of your blood so I can run it through again just to make sure my tired eyes weren't messing things up.

Thanks man and I'm sorry,

Gideon

Jay gulped down air and fell into one of the seats, his head reeling with disbelief. The blood Gideon was referring to in the email had been from the last robbery he had witnessed. Gideon was his best friend, living back in Salem, Oregon, where he had moved from. Gideon now had a PhD in criminology and forensics, which was why Jay had sent him the blood he had found on the floor.

"Hey, is everything alright?" a sweet voice broke through, and Jay blinked his eyes rapidly. It was Caitlin, the girl he had met in the coffee shop. She had a textbook placed against her heart, and was carrying a messenger bag. "Jay, right?" He shook his head, then nodded. "I'm going to take that as, no, everything's not alright, and yes, I am Jay." He nodded again, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "Do you want to talk about it?" He shook his head, gently leaning it into his open palm. He wasn't really emotional, but this email had just been a bombshell. He had been alone since he was eleven. His mother had been his only companion through life, and then his father had stolen her away from him.

Something shifted beside him and there was a small arm wrapped around his waist. He stiffened a little bit until he realized it was Caitlin hugging him, and then he relaxed. His shoulders shook as he tried to contain his sobs. She just whispered soft words to him and squeezed him tighter. It was only when the bell rang that he was calm down.

"You better hurry if you don't want to be late for class," Jay whispered, his voice ragged from crying.

"You'll be late," she whispered, looking into his eyes.

"I'll be fine," he told her, taking a shaky breath. "Go on." She shook her head.

"I don't think you understand," she laughed, shaking her head. "Jay, this is my free period." Jay chuckled and looked at her.

"This is my free period too," he said, and they both laughed.

"You heard about the dance that's coming up?" Caitlin asked him, to which he shook his head. Caitlin gave him the rundown of what she had learned from Jesse. "I think that the teachers and faculty secretly hate us."

"That would explain the 'awkward' part of it," Jay snorted.

"Yeah, well you have two weeks to find someone," Caitlin said. "Knowing Ronnie he's going to pretend we don't know each other and ask me."

"But that would be against the rules, wouldn't it?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. "Who knew that Caitlin would be such a rule breaker?"

"I never said I would say yes, silly!" she teased, shoving him slightly. "Anyways, I would probably say yes to whoever asked me, as long as I semi-know them." Jay felt his chest tightened up. "Hey...do you want to go with me?"

"Where?"

"To the dance, stupid," she smirked. "We barely know each other and you're on the football team, which might make Ronnie tolerant to let you take me." Jay paused for a moment before nodding.

"That would be nice."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Cisco)**_

"Alright, I want details, and I want them now," Cisco ordered as soon as all of the roommates were back in their room. He made his fingers into pretend guns and pointed them at everybody. "Give them all and nobody gets hurt." They all scrambled onto their beds.

"I'll go first," said Barry, raising his hand. All the other boys nodded and leaned in close to him. "I'm going with Lisa Snart and our color is red."

"Me next," said Oliver. "I'm going with Iris West and our color is green."

"My turn!" shouted out Wally. "I'm going with Felicity Smoak and our color is black-and-white."

"I'm going with Jesse Wells, and our color is pink," groaned Cisco, pounding his forehead on his pillow. "I just had to let Jesse pick the color…"

"What about you, Garrick?" asked Wally, glancing at Jay, who seemed to be nonresponsive. "What're your details?"

"I'm taking Caitlin and our color is dark blue," he told them.

"BTW man, her last name is Snow," said Cisco, faux whispering it from behind his hand. "Just FYI." Jay rolled his eyes and chose to ignore him.

"Wait a second," said Wally, pushing himself up. "Where the heck are we supposed to get tuxes? We got way too much homework and no offense, but we're all way too broke."

Barry was quiet then said, "I overheard the drama director, Mr. Morrison, talking to Mr. Singh, the criminology professor. Something about how there were more than enough outfits in the costume warehouse for guys and girls to borrow things. He also announced that it would be open so kids could check things out throughout the next few days."

"Awesome," said Oliver. "Maybe Iris and I can hit up on our way back from lunch."

"Lisa and I could probably join you too," Barry put in, whipping out his phone. "We could skip tutoring for a day." The two boys nodded and Barry got up, going into the guys' bathroom. Cisco grabbed his blanket, cocooned himself, and went off to sleep.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Jay)**_

Jay woke up early the next morning on purpose. He needed to get to the biogenetic lab in order to draw his blood so he could send a sample to Gideon. He grabbed his backpack and quietly slipped from the bedroom, racing out of the dorm house and to a little secluded building where all the Science Majors and Minors were located. He dashed inside and headed over to the lab. He poked his head inside and glanced around. Nobody was inside. He slid in, quietly shutting the door behind him. He immediately headed over to the blood work area.

Jay sat down on one of the stools and rolled his navy blue long sleeve shirt up above his elbow. He found some rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball and he wiped the crease of his elbow over and over until it was completely soaked. Then, he pulled out one of the drawers. Just as he was pulling out the needle needed for drawing blood, he heard, "Jay?" He started, dropping the needle onto the ground. He looked up and fear raced through him. Caitlin Snow stood at the front door, staring at him with a horrified expression. "W-What are you doing h-here?"

"Caitlin, I swear this isn't what it looks like," he promised her, trying to keep his heartrate down. "If you come over here, I will explain everything." Caitlin stood shaking at the front of the classroom. "Cait, I need you to trust me." She gulped and nodded, still shaking as she shut the door. She cautiously made her way across the way, gulping. "I need to draw my blood."

"Why?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly.

"Before I moved to Central City, I lived in Salem, Oregon," he explained slowly. "I was interning as a detective at the SPD. Later, when we were looking at a robbery, I found some blood. I took it and sent it to my good friend, Gideon, who was the forensic scientist. I asked him to identify it. He sent me this email after I told him not to go to in depth with it." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, pulling up the email so Caitlin could read it. She read it very quickly.

"Twin brother?" she gasped. "Identical twin brother?" Jay nodded sadly.

"I never knew," he whispered. "I lost touch with my family when I was eleven."

"How?"

He gulped. He knew he was going to have to tell her his backstory, but it terrified him of what she was going to think of him.

"When I was eleven years old, I was forced to watch my father kill my mother," Jay whispered, and Caitlin let out a squeak, a lone tear falling from her eyes. "He was drunk and he was demanding that he get some respect for fighting in the war. He saw me and told it would build character." He took a shaky breath. "I called the police and they sentenced him to death. After that, I moved in with Gideon's family and took their last name." He looked at her straight in the eyes. "My real name is Jason Zolomon. Gideon's last name is Garrick. As it said in the email, I needed to take some blood and send it to Gideon so he could analyze it and see if that robber was my twin brother." Caitlin nodded before walking around to Jay, bending over to grab the needle.

"Let me," she whispered to him. He began to shake his head, but she interrupted, saying, "Jay, out of the two of us, who is studying in biochemistry and genetics?" He felt his lips turn into a smirk and she gently stuck the needle into his arm, finding the vein immediately.

"Ouch," he muttered, and Caitlin smirked slightly. She pulled the blood out and then capped it off. "That's it?"

"That's it," she confirmed, handing the vial to Jay. "All you need to do is go off and ship it."

"Thank you so much, Caitlin," Jay said, standing up and pulling her into a hug. She gently wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled. "Is there a post office on campus or something?"

"You'd be surprise," commented Caitlin. "We can actually go head there now."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Barry)**_

"Absolutely, one hundred percent not," Lisa said, shaking her head. "Where the heck did you even find that?"

"It was next to this salsa dancer mannequin," Barry explained, rubbing his eyes.

"That explains everything," snorted Lisa. "We're going to a dance, not a Spanish fiesta." Iris walked over and burst out laughing when she saw the bright red shirt with ruffles on it that Barry was wearing. "See? Even your sister is laughing in your face. Here." She tossed Barry a red short-sleeved dress shirt. "Try this on." He grumbled to himself, but walked into one of the dressing rooms and switched shirts, adding to the effect a black vest and a white thick tie. He walked out of the dressing room and Lisa immediately nodded.

"That's a whole lot better," giggled Iris, still recovering from her laughing attack.

"And, that will be perfect with this," Lisa said, revealing behind her back a beautiful floor length dress. It was the exact same red as Barry's shirt with sparkly silver rhinestones decorating the top, forming into a V. The sleeves were long enough to reach Lisa's wrists and at the end there were silver rhinestones too.

"Wow, Lisa, that is gorgeous!" gasped Iris, her hands gently touching it. "I have no idea what Oliver is picking for…" Before she could even finish, Oliver suddenly appeared behind her, swinging in front of her a floor length emerald green dress. There was a belt around the middle and it had decorative lacing up the front. The back showed a little, but not too much. "Oliver, this is amazing!"

"I kind of got a little help," Oliver smirked, quickly winking at Barry. "Let's just say there's a little birdy who told me your favorite style of dresses." She flipped around and squealed, throwing her arms around Barry. He smiled and hugged her back, taking a deep breath. He caught Lisa and Oliver sharing a smirk and he suddenly seemed confused. Why were they smiling at him? "Hey, when did you say Eddie was coming?" Barry's face fell. He didn't mind Detective Thawne, but he didn't like the fact that he was dating the girl Barry had crushed on since he was eleven. Iris pulled back from her hug with Barry and went over to explain things to Oliver while Lisa walked over.

"Hey," she whispered, wrapping an arm around Barry's waist. He instinctively threw an arm around her shoulder. "You should relax a little. Someday Iris is going to realize that there is only one guy who is perfect for her." She bumped him with her hip. "And that's you."

"Lisa Snart!" a voice growled out, and Lisa seemed to freeze, her face contorting with fear. She yanked herself away from Barry and quickly threw the dress she was holding in a big pile of random clothes. She put on her most bored expression and sat down on a cardboard box as a man with close-shaven dark hair stormed into the warehouse. "Where the flippin' heck are you?"

"In here, Mick," she called out, pretending to play with her nails. Barry noticed while she kept a calm demeanor on the outside, she had a terrified expression behind her eyes.

"What the heck are you doing in here?" he growled, storming over to her. He was wearing a stained white t-shirt and reeked of alcohol. He grabbed her wrist sharply and yanked her up. She stumbled to her feet and Barry clenched his fists. "I thought I told you to meet me at my dorm."

"I was busy, Mick," she said, and he yelled, "Excuses!"

"Hey, back off, Buddy," Oliver said, taking a step forward. Iris wrapped her hands around his arm, holding him back. "Just who do you think you are?"

"I'm her boyfriend, dork," Mick growled back, his fist clenching tighter around Lisa's wrist. Barry heard a tiny squeak and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Let her go," Barry ordered, and Mick just snorted. "You're hurting her. A real man wouldn't hurt his girlfriend."

"Oh, and I suppose you are a real man," Mick guffawed. "Yeah right, loser. Come on, babe, let's ditch this joint." He flipped around and began to practically drag Lisa out of the room. Barry didn't realize what he was doing until it was done.

He took two giant steps then swung, his fist connecting with the side of Mick's face. He was sent stumbling, letting go of Lisa's wrist. Barry quickly pushed her towards Oliver, who grabbed her and hid her behind him with Iris. Mick flipped around, a mask of pure rage and disbelief on his face.

"You sure didn't want to do that, idiot," the guy spat, wiping a bit of blood away from his lip.

"Treat your woman with respect and maybe I will," Barry shot back.

"Lisa?" a voice called out. This one was deep like Mick's, but with a hint of more concern. Another close-shaven haired man stepped out from behind the door. He had cold, calculating eyes, and they were searching for the girl. He was dressed in a V-neck black t-shirt with a blue leather jacket thrown on top.

"Lenny," Lisa breathed, rushing away from Oliver and into the other man's arms. Now Barry was officially confused. Why was she seeking comfort from this man rather than her boyfriend?

"Snart, why are you here?" growled Mick, his question directed to the boy. That's when Barry realized he must be a sibling of Lisa's.

"Unlike you, I found a date and was looking for an outfit," the man said, his voice low. "Now, I suggest you go find a date."

"Lisa's my date."

"He's lying, Lenny," Barry heard Lisa whisper. "We aren't allowed to go with people we know really well. I'm going with the guy in red." The guy, Lenny, looked up at Barry and narrowed his eyes.

"Mick, go back to the dorm. I'll deal with you later," Lenny ordered, and Mick clenched his fists before he stomped out. As soon as he was gone, Iris ran over to the clump of clothes and retrieved the long red dress Lisa had thrown there.

"Thank you," sighed Lisa, sniffing slightly. "I-I just didn't know w-what to do…"

"Are you alright?" Iris asked, hesitantly putting a hand on Lisa's shoulder. Lisa sniffed again and nodded, taking a deep breath. "Who was that guy?"

"Michael Rory, aka Mick," Lisa's brother answered. "The pea-brained idiot who's been dating my sister for the past three years." Barry's mouth widened in disbelief.

"T-Three years?" gasped Oliver, just as stunned as he was.

"Did he treat you like that all the time?" Barry questioned. Lisa sniffed and wiped her eyes from any unformed tears.

"Not in the beginning," she whispered, so soft Barry took a step closer so he could hear better. "When he asked me out, he was a graduate from high school and I thought he was amazing. He treated me like such a lady and he made me feel better despite the troubles I endured through schooling." She faltered.

"Then, almost like it was a switch, he changed. Once he realized how I was treating him, like a King, he started acting like a tyrant. He would demand I do things for him, a-and I got punished if I didn't." She bit her lower lip but pulling the shoulder off of her yellow-cream blouse. There was a long pink scar. "That one was the worse time. He had gotten drunk and thought I had been cheating on him...he couldn't see straight so he thought that when I kissed Lenny goodbye, I was making out with some other dude. He grabbed his beer bottle and just started hitting me. Over, and over, and over again."

It was only then when Barry registered the damp tears that were falling from his eyes.

"Lenny found me the next day when I didn't go home. Mick was passed out on the couch and I had put myself into the broom closet, holding a pocket knife I had found. I never thought that night was going to end. By the time Lenny found me, I was determined that if it was Mick's face I saw, I was going to stab him."

"Oh my gosh," Iris said, running her fingers through her hair. "Lisa…"

"I'm in therapy."

Lisa and Lenny's head snapped up to Barry, who was looking super awkward in the group standing by himself.

"Yeah, I've been going to a therapist steadily since I was eleven years old," Barry added, coughing slightly. "When I was eleven, there was a loud thumping noise in the downstairs living room. I casually thought it was just Mom and Dad messing around and stuff, until I heard a scream. I raced from my room and saw a tall man, dressed head to toe in red and yellow. I never saw what his face looked like clearly, only that his eyes were a startling red. My father came down right before me. He saw what was happening and realized it immediately.

He was a serial killer, and his target was Mom. My dad told me to run. As I left the house, something hit my head. When I came to, I was in an ambulance. They had orders to take me to the hospital for my concussion, but I asked them to take me back to my house, insisting that my father was a doctor (which he was) and that he would take care of me. Once we got there though, everything went wrong."

Barry gulped and used his hand to hastily wipe his tears away. "My father had handcuffs on and he was being pushed into a police cruiser. My now foster father, Joe West, was stumbling out looking dazed, and I was just confused. I asked Joe where my mom was, so I could see her, and he tried to keep me out of the house. That's when I knew what happened.

My mom was lying in our living room, giving the ceiling as cold stare. In her chest she had a large, butcher knife. Joe told me later that they had found prints on the knife that belonged to my father." He gulped again. "My father was sent to Iron Heights Prison for a crime he didn't commit, and since the CCPD thought they had apprehended their guy, they never even went looking for the true murder, the man in the yellow." Lisa just stared at him with admiration and disbelief. "Lisa, you are the first person who I've ever told that full story to in over twelve years. The purpose of that story is to say we've all been pushed to the breaking point before. We just have to make sure we don't get pushed over."

"You should make inspirational cat posters, Allen," she sniffed, laughing a little.

"Feeling better, sis?" Lenny asked her and she nodded. "I think you'll be safe so I'm going to go find that costume." He turned and glared at Oliver and Barry, as if daring them to prove he was wrong. Barry gulped down a wave of fear and silently agreed with Lenny. He turned and walked off, leaving the foursome back.

"We better head out then," swallowed Iris, handing the dress to Lisa. "We're going to talk once you reach the dorms, though." Lisa nodded, wiping away small tears. She turned to Barry once again.

"Thanks, Barry."

 **A/N: Tada! Also, I do not own Arrow or The Flash. I also feel like I should mention that Oliver and Felicity (along with a few other characters) will be the only Arrow characters in this story. I don't watch The Arrow, so therefore those are the two that I know the best.**

 **Superior Tennyson: Super close! One of your ships is off-kilter. Also, there will be more Flash puns if I can help it. Some of their names will be changed, others will not be. That's all I can disclose for now**.


	5. Chapter 5

_**(Barry)**_

For some odd reason or another, Barry woke up the next morning with an insane headache. He moaned and sat up on his bed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Jay shuffled from his top bunk and glanced down at the brunette.

"Everything ok, dude?" Jay asked. Barry shrugged and pounded his forehead.

"Got a bad headache, should be fine," Barry told him. He got up, wearing only his sweatpants. He took two steps forward and realized he couldn't tell up from down or left from right. He tripped over his own two feet and fell to the ground.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Jay)**_

Jay was surprised when Barry suddenly collapsed. He threw himself off the bed while yelling for the rest of the room to wake up. Oliver was the next person beside them, followed by Cisco and then Wally.

"Hey, Barry, stay with us!" ordered Oliver, shaking him slightly. "I need someone to grab the nurse and Iris, right now." Jay made eye contact with Wally.

"Grab the therapist, Ms. Patty Spivot," ordered Jay. "She's located in the main building. She doubles as the school nurse. I'll grab Iris from her room." Wally nodded and the two took off down the hall, yelling at everyone to get out of their way. Once outside, Jay nodded once to Wally before sprinting down the open grass, trying hard not to slip. He got to the girls' dorms in no problem, just to find Caitlin walking out of one of the floor rooms with PJs on and a towel wrapped around her head.

"Jay, what are you doing here?" Caitlin gasped, taking a few steps back.

"Barry's hurt and we need Iris," Jay stumbled out. Caitlin nodded and grabbed Jay's wrist, pulling him up a few flight of stairs until coming to the third level. They then entered a long hallway and Caitlin threw open one of the doors. Much to Jay's relief, all the girls were dressed decently. Iris was lounging on one of the top bunks, typing furiously on a small Mac laptop.

"Caitlin…that was fast…" she began, but then paused when she saw she was panting and had a Jay attached to her. "Jay, what…"

"Barry," he said, and Iris leapt off the bed, grabbing a small crimson cardigan.

"Lead the way."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Oliver)**_

Oliver checked Barry's pulse as soon as the kid passed out. It was going steadily, which calmed him down, but he was still kind of freaked out. Why did Barry fall in the first place?

"Barry!" a female voice screamed, and Oliver looked up. Iris was there, and her eyes were extremely wide. She took a few steps forward and knelt to the ground, gently stroking Barry's cheek. "Oh my gosh...what happened?"

"He fainted," Oliver explained. "Or, in the manly way, passed out." Just as he finished that sentence, Wally entered the room with a tall, blond haired woman.

"Brought her," Wally panted, before falling into one of the chairs. The woman (Oliver guessed she was Patty Spivot), fell to her knees by Barry.

"May I please have some space?" she questioned, and instantly all the guys hopped away, Iris included. "You two," she pointed towards Oliver and Iris, "stay here and help me with him. The rest of you, go grab me some ice, newly warm blankets, and then wait at Jitters. We'll come to you once he's ok." Everyone nodded and headed to their designated areas.

"What do you need us to do?" Oliver asked, taking a seat by Iris but across from Patty.

"His pulse is fine," Patty said, mentally checking something off. "His pupils look intact. Must be some kind of cold that hit him harder than the rest of you. He'll probably need to be on bedrest for the next few days."

"But the dance is coming up soon!" Iris protested. "He can't miss it. I know how much he's been looking forward to it." Patty shook her head sadly.

"Until we can figure out what's wrong, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do," Patty said sadly. "Mr. Queen, please put Barry on his bed. Ms. West, would you please go to the rest of the group and tell them that Barry will be fine and that he just needs some rest. He'll be better in no time."

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Cisco)**_

"This is taking forever!" groaned Cisco, dragging out each of the syllable. He sipped his coffee angrily and only simmered down when Lisa placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. So far the group at Jitters was Wally, Cisco, Jay, Caitlin, Lisa, Jesse, Felicity, and Lisa's older brother, Lenny, who just happened to be having coffee with his girlfriend, Sara Lance. So, in total, nine people. They had grabbed multiple tables and shoved them together. "If they don't come out here in five minutes, I'm gonna…"

"You already said that, Cisco," Caitlin pointed out, to which Cisco stopped. "Five minutes ago." Cisco grinned sheepishly and Jay snorted before taking a small sip of his drink. "Barry will be fine. Ms. Spivot is a professional nurse."

"She's a therapist," argued Jay, setting his coffee down. "Not a nurse."

"If she can stitch wounds up, then I'm fine with her," commented Sara, taking a bite out of her chocolate covered croissant. "Look." She pointed with her croissant towards the door, and in walked Oliver and Iris. Each of them looked worn out, and Iris was wiping away tears. Jesse leapt from her seat and gently grabbed Iris by the shoulders, leading her over to her seat. Wally got out of his seat and let Oliver sit down.

"What's the results?" Caitlin asked nervously, fiddling with the tip of her hair. Cisco tapped his fingers against the countertop, and Lisa reached over, gently placing her hand on his. He smiled with thanks and opened his hand, letting her fingers slip through.

"Ms. Spivot said that Barry must be experiencing a severe cold," Iris sniffed, taking a deep breath. "She's put him on bedrest." Lisa gasped.

"B-But the dance…" she muttered, a little bit of fear coming to her eyes. Oliver reached over the table and placed a hand on Lisa's other hand.

"Technically, she said he's not allowed to go," he whispered gently. Lisa began to take quick, short breaths, and Cisco scooted closer, rubbing her back gently in circles. "We aren't going to let Mick come near you."

"Mick Rory?" asked Sara, raising an eyebrow. Everyone turned to her, including Lenny. "That jerk?"

"I thought you said you didn't know him," said Lenny, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't know him well," Sara argued. "I just heard he was a jerk towards his girlfriend, and that his girl didn't know how to fight back." She continued to ramble on, and then suddenly stopped out of realization when she connected the pieces. She pointed to Lisa. "You're the girlfriend he's abusing." Lisa bristled and Cisco turned to her, disbelief in his eyes.

"You're being abused?" he whispered, and Lisa looked away, sniffling. "Lisa...talk to me."

"Not here...not now," she retorted softly. "Maybe later." She pulled her hands away from the boys and used it to wrap it around herself. "I need to leave for classes."

"Ms. Spivot is talking with the principal. He's excused us from classes for the next few days so we can help Barry," Iris interrupted. "Do you want to return to the rooms?" Lisa nodded hurriedly and Iris got up. Jesse followed suit and the three girls marched off.

"I need to head back to my dorm," said Sara, tossing her napkin in the trash. "I'll talk with Kendra and see if she has any pointers about what's happening."

"Carter, Palmer, and Jackson might actually want to hear about this," snorted Lenny, heaving himself up. "I'll go on back to my dorm too." The two waved goodbye before heading off. Felicity glanced over at Oliver's rigid form and Cisco raised an eyebrow at her. _Make a move, girl_ , he silently encouraged her. _I know you like him_. Felicity turned to Cisco and glared at him, and that's when he realized he had said it out loud.

"Who likes who?" demanded Caitlin, looking around.

"Nothing!" squealed Felicity, grabbing Caitlin by the wrist and dragging her out of Jitters. The remaining group all looked at each other.

"We might as well see how Barry's doing," Jay said finally.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Jay)**_

Jay rubbed his hands together anxiously as Wally opened the door. Barry was sitting up in his bed, a plaid shirt now loosely button on his chest with the same sweatpants on the bottom. In his hands he held a book. He looked up at them and smiled weakly. He was paler than normal, with dark lines under his eyes.

"Hey guys," he said, waving to them. All the guys clambered in, Cisco and Wally on his right, Jay and Oliver on his left. "Sorry I gave you guys a scare."

"You can say that again," Cisco said. "Whatever happened, you even made the ladies scared." Barry gaped.

"W-What do you mean?" he asked.

"Iris, Felicity, Caitlin, Jesse, Lisa, and Lisa's brother's girlfriend, Sara, were all there, fretting over you," Wally said. They all paused and glanced at him. "Ok, not Sara, but everyone else."

"I didn't mean to scare everyone," Barry apologized. "I don't know what happened really. It kind of felt like…" He trailed off, and then shook his head. "Hey, why aren't you guys at classes?" While Cisco explained, Jay and Wally got up to make some breakfast for the 'damsel-in-distress' as Cisco had nicknamed Barry.

"You ready for the dance?" Wally asked Jay, and Jay shook his head.

"So not ready," Jay gulped. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm terrified Ronny's going to overreact and 'punish' Caitlin."

"You really like her, don't you?" Wally smirked, and Jay froze.

"I never said anything about liking Caitlin," Jay argued back, just as his phone pinged. He dove for it and opened up the email.

 **To: Jason Garrick**

 **From: Gideon Garrick**

Hey Jaybird!

First off, my mom is really **pissed** that I didn't tell her I emailed you, so she says hello.

Anyways, back to business. So, thanks for the blood. It didn't really do _much_ , since I had a hunch.

It's true. You and Hunter Zolomon are _**identical twin brothers**_. And unless you're at Star City, then Hunter is there.

I can't tell you how much I miss you and how much I want to see you again.

Stay in touch, man,

Gideon

"Jay, are you alright?" Wally asked, breaking Jay's concentration. Jay reached up and felt his face. His cheeks were wet with recent tears and he set his phone down.

"No," he croaked, turning to Wally. "I'm not." Wally glanced at the other guys before gesturing for Jay to quietly slip out of the room. He did so and Wally followed suit.

"Talk," Wally ordered and Jay brought out his email conversation with Gideon. Wally quickly skimmed it and his mouth dropped and his eyes widened. "Dude…"

"I've never seen him," Jay gulped. "He's never met me. Does he even know I exist?"

"Deep breaths, man," Wally ordered. Jay slid his back against the wall onto the floor. Wally sat down beside him and they just sat there as Jay just soaked in the information. "Does anyone else know?"

"Only Caitlin," Jay said, wiping his eyes. "I'm usually not a wreck like this."

"Take it easy," Wally told him. "I'm going to make sure our omelets are burning, and I'll be right back." As Wally ducked inside the room, Jay got up, quietly and quickly running out of the dorm house. He just needed time alone.

 **:/:\:**

 _ **(Wally)**_

To say that Wally was pissed when he realized that Jay had ditched him was an understatement.

He was furious.

"Where did he go?" Wally demanded, coming back into the room. Barry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where did who go?" he asked.

"Jay," Wally growled, frustrated. "We were talking outside, I told him to wait for me for one measly second, and when I went back, he was gone." Cisco gave Wally a 'really?' look.

"Maybe Jay just needed some alone time," Cisco suggested, slapping Barry's hand when Barry tried to turn a page in his book. "I'm not done yet."

"There's a reason Jay's been secretive," Oliver said, nodding towards Wally. "You know that."

"Yeah, and I just figured out why," Wally said, holding Jay's phone out for the rest of the group. "There's something that little Jaybird has refused to tell us. Jay has an identical twin brother." Barry's eyes widen in disbelief and the three men scrambled over to read the emails for themselves.

"Is that why he's in therapy?" Barry said, and Cisco raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I'll fill you in later."

"It can't be," argued Oliver. He pointed at the date that the first email was sent. "This Gideon guy sent this email long after registration closed. Jay must be going to Ms. Spivot for something else."

"Well, maybe there's a way we can find out," Barry said, a sly grin forming on his face. "Besides us, who is the one person who he is closest to?" The other boys grinned and then all nodded.

It was time to pay Ms. Caitlin Snow a visit.

 **A/N: I feel so proud that I'm this far into this story! This has been a little brain child of mine for quite some time.**

 **Superior Tennyson: I can't fully answer that right now because it might give away some spoilers (hehe hehe). Also, nice idea for a team attack! I will definitely use that.**


End file.
